Most adolescents are spending hours each day on smartphones, social media, and digital platforms designed to capture attention – at a stage when their brains are still developing the ability to manage emotions, focus, and impulse control.
What does this mean for the development of healthy behavioral and emotional self-regulation skills? And what can parents do to help?
Children and Screens held Part 2 of its #AskTheExperts webinar mini-series on digital media and youth self-regulation on May 20, 2026. Focused on teens and pre-teens, this webinar brought together a panel of psychologists, neuroscientists, and adolescent behavioral psychiatrists to shed light on:
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- What specific self-regulation skills are still maturing in adolescence
- Why digital media use can be difficult for adolescents to self-regulate
- The risks and benefits of how today’s teens are using media to self-manage emotions
- How media use can impact executive functioning and cognitive development in adolescence
- Unique considerations for teens with ADHD, autism, and problematic media use
